Is Gangsta Jerry Manuel Already Losing His Street Cred?

I've never been to Shea Stadium, but neither has the New York Mets' newest manager Jerry Manuel. Not yet, anyway.

He has made it known, however, that he doesn't take any crap. In fact, he gave an earful to Jose Reyes last Tuesday night when Reyes refused to leave the game after the shortstop's hamstring started to tighten. Reyes threw a tantrum, but eventually caved and left the field, apologizing to Manuel a short time later.

Manuel made sure Reyes understood what his minor insubordination could have cost him.

"I told him next time he does that I'm going to get my blade out and cut him. I'm a gangster. You go gangster on me, I'm going to have to get you. You do that again, I'm going to cut you right on the field,"

Short of sticking a shiv between Reyes' ribs, that's about as gangsta as it gets on the diamond. Sure, it was all in jest, but the message is well received. Manuel is doing what he believes is right for the team, and if he tells you to do something, you do it. You gotta' respect that in a manager.

Ensuring your players respect you is one thing, but chastising your fans is something else entirely.

Mets fans have been generous with the boo's this season, especially for reliever Aaron Heilman. When asked about the chorus of boos for Heilman and how he was holding up, Manuel has this response:

"It's very, very fertile ground for growth in Shea Stadium. It's fertile ground for a team's growth and development. Sometimes, fertile ground has fertilizer."

That is some serious smack-talk right there. He is, in essence, calling Mets fans pieces of manure (to use a PG term).

He quickly clarified his statement:

"Fertilizer is a good thing. It's a good thing. You get the greatest results—get the most beautiful plants—when you put it in that type of fertile soil. That's what we have the opportunity to do."

Fair enough. Motivation is a derivative of disappointment and the last thing any player wants to do is disappoint the fans. 

As a paying supporter, however, fans should have the right to boo whoever they like, whenever they like. It's our prerogative, and no manager, player, or official has the right to keep us from booing.

Now, I'm no gangsta. I do not ride around town in a drop-top Benz, I drive a Pontiac. So I went to the authority to see if Manuel's gangsta status is at all in jeopardy for talkin' smack about Shea's Stadium bums.

To do that, I checked out the lyrics for "Damn, It Feels Good To Be a Gangsta" by the Geto Boys.

Made famous by the film Office Space, it's a gangsta manifesto and seemed the perfect benchmark to judge Manuel's street cred. (According to the Urban Dictionary, street cred is defined as commanding a level of respect in an urban environment due to experience in or knowledge of issues affecting those environments.)

A quick note—I've edited or reworded the lyrics in order to make this a more family-friendly article.

1. A gangsta plays his cards right and never runs his mouth

Manuel fails this one. Sure, he handled the Reyes situation properly, but he ran his mouth about Mets fans booing Heilman. He should've known better.

2. A gangsta never starts fights

He's picked a fight with Mets fans before he even stepped one foot in to Shea Stadium. Yikes!

3. A gangsta never has to flex his muscle, because real gangstas don't have to—they command respect

Manuel was in his right to call Mets fans whatever he wanted to. He doesn't like the behavior, and he offered his opinion. Like or not, you gotta' respect that.  Problem is, he then turned around and tried to make it look like the "piece of manure" Mets fans are good things. 

He would have had more respect from his players—and probably some fans—had he just stuck to his original comments instead of trying to clarify them.

It would seem to me Manuel has lost a lot of street cred off the field. It's not a total loss, though. Look at Ozzie Guillen. There's a manager who constantly runs his mouth off, but the World Series ring he sports gives him more than enough cred.

That's how Manuel can get some back. Get the Mets to the series. 

Failing that, well, he can always shank Reyes.